Analog Photovoltaic Power Circuit

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses an analog photovoltaic power circuit, comprising: a photovoltaic device group for receiving photo energy to generate an input voltage; a power stage circuit for converting the input voltage to an output voltage; an optimum voltage estimation circuit for receiving a predetermined voltage and estimating an optimum voltage according to a direction of variation of the input voltage and a direction of variation of the power generated by the photovoltaic device group; and an analog comparison and control circuit for comparing the optimum voltage with the input voltage, to thereby control the operation of the power stage circuit.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a photovoltaic power circuit, such as asolar cell battery, in particular to a photovoltaic power circuitcomprising analog devices, which has a much simpler structure thanconventional digital photovoltaic power circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

More and more advanced countries are devoting research resources tosolar cell batteries, in view of energy crisis. Solar cell batteriesbelong to the family of photovoltaic power circuits. A photovoltaicpower circuit functions by means of the characteristics of semiconductorPN junctions. The PN junctions transfer the received photo energy toelectric energy, and charge a battery with the electric energy so thatit can generate power. FIG. 1 shows the V-I (voltage-current)relationship for a PN junction diode to generate electric energy, inwhich the solid line represents the relationship between voltage andcurrent, and the dot line represents the product of voltage and current(V*I), i.e., power. The figure shows only one curve because it isassumed that the received photo energy remains unchanged, If thereceived photo energy changes, the curve correspondingly changes.

As shown by the curve in FIG. 1, the maximum voltage point Voc is at theopen circuit point, while the maximum current point Isc is at the shortcircuit point. However, the maximum power output point is neither at themaximum voltage point nor at the maximum current point, but at a maximumpower point MPP, with corresponding optimum voltage Vmpp and optimumcurrent Impp. Because the received photo energy often keeps varying,prior art digital photovoltaic power circuits have to make complicatedcalculation, by sophisticated digital circuit, to extract the electricenergy at the MPP corresponding to the received photo energy.

An example of such prior art digital photovoltaic power circuit isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,970, which is shown in FIG. 2 in asimplified form. The voltage Vin generated by a photovoltaic device 2 isconverted to output voltage Vout by a power stage 3, to be supplied to aload 4. The load 4 for example can be a charging battery, and the powerstage 3 for example can be a boost converter, a buck converter, aninverter, a fly-back converter, etc. To keep the power stage 3extracting electric energy at the MPP, a digital controller 5 isprovided in the circuit, which includes a digital calculation module 51(e.g., a digital microcontroller) that keeps multiplying the value ofthe voltage Vin with the value of the extracted current I to obtain theMPP, and further calculates the optimum voltage Vmpp based on theobtained MPP. The calculated voltage Vmpp is compared with the inputvoltage Vin, and the comparison result drives a controller circuit 52 tocontrol the power stage 3. The digital controller 5 shown in FIG. 2 isvery sophisticated; it requires a huge number of transistors, and itrequires analog-to-digital converters (ADC) to capture voltage andcurrent signals. Inevitably, this increases difficulties and cost of thecircuit and its design.

Another prior art digital photovoltaic power circuit is disclosed in USPatent Publication No. 2006/0164065. This prior art only brieflyexplains the idea that the circuit includes a search mode and adithering mode. In the initial search mode, the circuit sweeps thevoltage-current curve to find the MPP; thereafter, it enters thedithering mode in which it operates according to the current valuecorresponding to the MPP, and periodically samples and updates the vale(for details, please refer to paragraphs 0008, 0010, 0033 and FIG. 5 ofthe patent publication). However, this cited patent publication does notexplain how it “sweeps” to find the MPP.

Although there is no detailed circuit structure illustrating how itsweeps, it can be seen from the description relating to the search modeand the sweeping process that this cited patent publication, even if itdoes not require multiplication of multiple voltage and current values(in fact one can not see how it omits such complicated calculation fromthe specification of this cited patent publication), requires manydigital circuits such as memories or registers and comparators;otherwise it can not select and memorize the maximum power point MPP. Inaddition to the complexity of the circuit, the sweeping process proposedby this cited patent publication occupies effective operation time ofthe circuit. Moreover, if light intensity changes after initialization,causing the photovoltaic device to deviate from the originalvoltage-current curve, the circuit has to reinitiate the search modewith the sweeping process, which is very inefficient.

In brief, US Patent Publication No. 2006/0164065 requires a complicatedcircuit and an inefficient process to find the MPP point, so that it canoperate in the dithering mode in an analogous manner. Obviously this isdisadvantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is desirous, and thus an object of thepresent invention, to provide an analogue photovoltaic power circuitthat improves the drawbacks in prior art.

To achieve the above and other objects, in one aspect of the presentinvention, an analog photovoltaic power circuit, comprising: a primaryphotovoltaic device group for receiving photo energy and generating aninput voltage; a power stage for converting the input voltage to anoutput voltage; an optimum voltage point estimation circuit forestimating an optimum voltage point according to a ratio of the opencircuit voltage of the primary photovoltaic device group; and an analogcomparison and control circuit for controlling the conversion operationof the power stage according to a comparison between the optimum voltagepoint estimated by the optimum voltage point estimation circuit and theinput voltage.

In the above-mentioned aspect of the present invention, the ratio ispreferably about 70% to about 90% of the open circuit voltage, such as80%. Because the optimum voltage point is obtained from a ratio of theopen circuit voltage of the primary photovoltaic device group, it is notrequired to use a sophisticated digital calculation circuit, nor anysweeping process.

In another aspect of the present invention, an analog photovoltaic powercircuit comprises: a primary photovoltaic device group for receivingphoto energy and generating an input voltage, the input voltagecorresponding to an input current; a power stage for converting theinput voltage to an output voltage ; an optimum voltage point estimationcircuit receiving a predetermined voltage and estimating an optimumvoltage point according to (1) a direction of variation of the inputvoltage and a direction of variation of the power generated by theprimary photovoltaic device group, or (2) a direction of variation ofthe input current and a direction of variation of the power generated bythe primary photovoltaic device group; and an analog comparison andcontrol circuit for controlling the conversion operation of the powerstage according to a comparison between the optimum voltage pointestimated by the optimum voltage point estimation circuit and the inputvoltage.

In the above-mentioned aspect of the present invention, it is notrequired to precisely calculate the maximum power point at theinitialization stage; the initial value of the optimum voltage point canstart from a rough starting point. The rough starting point can be adivisional voltage from a predetermined voltage obtained by a simplevoltage divider circuit. The predetermined voltage can be a fixedvoltage, or obtained from the primary photovoltaic device group, orobtained from a reference photovoltaic device group, without anysophisticated calculation. Furthermore, it is not required to preciselycalculate the power generated by the primary photovoltaic device group,but only required to know the direction of its variation. Hence, a verysimple power meter, or a simple power trend meter that only estimatesthe trend of the power changes (that the power is increasing ordecreasing) is sufficient. In some cases, it is sufficient to use even acurrent sensing circuit, and use the current value sensed by the circuitto represent power.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method for extractingenergy from a photovoltaic device group comprises the steps of :providing a reference voltage of about 70% to about 90% of an opencircuit voltage of the photovoltaic device group; comparing an outputvoltage of the photovoltaic device group with the reference voltage, tocontrol the output voltage of the photovoltaic device groupsubstantially at the reference voltage; and extracting energy from thephotovoltaic device.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a method forcalculating an optimum voltage point of a photovoltaic device groupcomprises the steps of: providing a predetermined initial value of areference voltage; estimating a direction of variation of the outputvoltage of the photovoltaic device group; estimating a direction ofvariation of the output power of the photovoltaic device group;comparing the two directions, and increasing the reference voltage whenboth directions are the same, and decreasing the reference voltage whenboth directions are opposite; and using the adjusted reference voltageas the optimum voltage point.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method for calculatingan optimum voltage point of a photovoltaic device group comprises thesteps of: providing a predetermined initial value of a referencevoltage; estimating a direction of variation of the output current ofthe photovoltaic device group; estimating a direction of variation ofthe output power of the photovoltaic device group;

comparing the two directions, and decreasing the reference voltage whenboth directions are the same, and increasing the reference voltage whenboth directions are opposite; and using the adjusted reference voltageas the optimum voltage point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the voltage-current relationship for a photovoltaic deviceunder the same photo energy.

FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a prior art photovoltaicpower circuit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a first embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a second embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a third embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a fourth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a fifth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a sixth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a seventh embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic circuit diagram showing an eighth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a ninth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a tenth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic circuit diagram showing an eleventh embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a twelfth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a current sensing circuit.

FIG. 16 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a thirteenth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a fourteenth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a fifteenth embodimentaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The key feature of the present invention is that it uses analog circuitdevices, which are much simpler than the devices in prior art, tocalculate the maximum power point MPP in a photovoltaic power circuit.The circuit according to the present invention is thus called “analogphotovoltaic power circuit”. However, it should be understood that theterm “analog photovoltaic power circuit” only means that the keyfunctions of the circuit are achieved by analog devices; it does notmean that all of the circuit devices are analog devices.

In general, the optimum voltage Vmpp is about 70% to about 90% of theopen circuit voltage Voc. Thus, in the first concept of the presentinvention, the optimum voltage Vmpp is estimated as about 70% to about90% of the open circuit voltage Voc of the photovoltaic power circuit.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is a schematic circuit diagram showing a firstembodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, Vmppis estimated as about 80% of Voc (wherein the number 80% is forillustrative purpose; it can be any number). As shown in the figure,this embodiment includes a primary photovoltaic device group 21 and areference photovoltaic device group 22. The primary photovoltaic devicegroup 21 generates electric energy, while the reference photovoltaicdevice group 22 serves to estimate the optimum voltage Vmpp. The voltagegenerated by the primary photovoltaic device group 21 is supplied to apower stage 3 as its input voltage yin; the power stage 3 for examplecan be a boost converter, a buck converter, an inverter, a fly-backconverter, etc. The power stage 3 is controlled by an analog comparisonand control circuit 50, to lock Vin at the MPP, and to receive energyfrom its input terminal, by a manner below.

The reference photovoltaic device group 22 generates a reference voltageVinREF. Because the reference photovoltaic device group 22 correspondsto a very small load, the reference voltage VinREF is about equal to theopen circuit voltage of the reference photovoltaic device group 22. Thereference photovoltaic device group 22 is proportional to the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21, that is, the number or size of its devicesis so arranged that the open circuit voltage of the referencephotovoltaic device group 22 is about equal to, or is a ratio of theopen circuit voltage Voc of the primary photovoltaic device group 21.The resistors R1 and R2 divide the reference voltage VinREF so that thevoltage at the node VR is about equal to 80% of the open circuit voltageVoc of the primary photovoltaic device group 21, i.e., the estimatedVmpp.

Preferably, the voltage at the node VR and the input voltage Vin arecompared in the analog comparison and control circuit 50, and thecomparison result controls the power stage 3 to receive energy from itsinput terminal. When the input voltage Vin is larger than the voltage atthe node VR, the power stage 3 extracts more current from its inputterminal; when the input voltage Vin is smaller than the voltage at thenode VR, the power stage 3 reduces current it extracts from its inputterminal. According to the voltage-current curve shown in FIG. 1, whencurrent increases, the output voltage of the primary photovoltaic devicegroup 21 decreases, that is, the input voltage Vin decreases. On theother hand, when current decreases, the output voltage of the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21 increases, that is, the input voltage Vinincreases. Thus, by mechanism of comparison and feedback control, theinput voltage Vin will be locked at the voltage at the node VR, so thatthe input voltage Vin is at the estimated Vmpp. In this way, the powerstage 3 works at its optimum operation point, to receive maximum energy.

The analog comparison and control circuit 50 can be embodied by a verysimple linear regulator, as referring to the second embodiment shown inFIG. 4. In this embodiment, an analog output from the error amplifier EAcontrols a power transistor 31 of the power stage 3. The conduction ofthe power transistor 31 follows the analog output from the erroramplifier EA, and the conduction decides the current to be extractedfrom the primary photovoltaic device group 21.

There is power loss in a linear regulator. To avoid it for betterefficiency, the linear regulator can be replaced by a switchingregulator, such as, using a PWM (pulse width modulation) circuit in theanalog comparison and control circuit 50. The details of a PWM circuitand how it regulates voltage are not explained here for that they areknown by one skilled in this art. It should be noted that the use of aPWM circuit is not the only approach; other modulation circuits such asPFM (pulse frequency modulation) circuit can be used in the analogcomparison and control circuit 50.

As an example, please refer to FIG. 5, which is the third embodimentaccording to the present invention. In this embodiment, the analogcomparison and control circuit 50 includes an error amplifier EA, whichreceives the voltage at the node VR as its reference voltage, andreceives the voltage Vin as the feedback voltage (maybe better phrasedas “feed-forward” voltage), and compares them with each other. Theresult of comparison is inputted to a comparator CMP, to be comparedwith a sawtooth wave. A logic circuit receives the output from thecomparator CMP, to generate a signal to be used for controlling thepower stage 3.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned is only one possiblearrangement; there are other arrangements to achieve the same or similarpurpose. The key point is to control the power stage 3 to extract energyaccording to the comparison between the voltage at the node VR and theinput voltage Vin, in which the voltage at the node VR (about equal toVmpp) can be obtained by a simple voltage division circuit, withoutcomplicated digital calculation module.

Under the above teaching, those skilled in this art can readily think ofmany variations. For example, the resistors R1 and R2 can be replaced byother devices having suitable DC resistances. Moreover, if the number ofdiodes connected in series in the reference photovoltaic device group 22is arranged to be around 70%-90% of the number of diodes connected inseries in the primary photovoltaic device group 21, the resistors R1 andR2 even can be omitted. All such variations should fall within the scopeof the present invention.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the energy generated by the referencephotovoltaic device group 22 is unutilized because it is not supplied tothe load 4. If it is desired to fully utilize the energy generated byevery photovoltaic device, under the spirit of the present invention,the circuit can be modified as below. FIG. 6 is a schematic circuitdiagram showing a fourth embodiment according to the present invention.In this embodiment, all photovoltaic devices are productive (hence, thecircuit only includes the primary photovoltaic device group 21, withoutthe reference photovoltaic device group 22). On the one hand, theprimary photovoltaic device group 21 generates the input voltage Vin; onthe other hand, it is electrically connected to ground via a diode DRand a capacitor CR. The voltage across the capacitor CR is the referencevoltage VinREF. When the power stage 3 is not active, the right side ofthe input voltage node Vin is equivalent to an open circuit; the inputvoltage Vin is equal to the open circuit voltage Voc of the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21, and the reference voltage VinREF is equalto the open circuit voltage Voc minus the voltage across the diode DR.This voltage charges the capacitor CR and becomes the voltage across thecapacitor CR. Similar to the previous embodiments, by properly arrangingthe resistances of the resistors R1 and R2, the voltage at the node VRis equal to about 80% of the open circuit voltage Voc, i.e., about Vmpp.The diode DR can be a normal diode, a Shocky diode, or other diodedevices.

In the above-described circuit, when the power stage 3 is active inextracting energy, the right side of the input voltage node Vin is notan open circuit. If the circuit keeps operating in such condition, theinput voltage Vin will no more be equal to the open circuit voltage Vocof the primary photovoltaic device group 21. When the capacitor CRgradually discharges, or when the photo energy received by the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21 varies, the voltage at the node VRinputting to the error amplifier EA will be inaccurate, deviating fromVmpp Therefore, although the above-described circuit is able to providethe basic function, it is preferred to periodically turn off the powerstage 3 so that the right side of the input voltage node Vin isequivalent to an open circuit, and that the capacitor CR can be charged.To periodically charge the capacitor CR can be viewed as an analogcalibration process to calibrate the voltage at the node VR so that itis equal to Vmpp. To this end, a circuit embodiment is shown in thefigure. The logic circuit 53 has an enable input EN, which receives asignal ENPWM having a waveform as shown in the figure. Most of the timethe signal ENPWM enables the logic circuit 53 (L1), but it periodicallydisables the logic circuit 53 to turn off the power stage 3, so that thecapacitor CR can be charged. In practical application, the period L1 canlast for several to several tens of seconds, while the period L2 is inthe order of milliseconds. The foregoing approach to indirectly turn offthe power stage 3 by controlling the logic circuit 53, is only one amongmany possible approaches. For example, to provide a switch at the rightside of the input voltage node

Vin, is an alternative. The key point is to periodically turn off thepower stage 3 so that the right side of the input voltage node Vin is anopen circuit, and that the capacitor CR can be charged. All variationsachieving such purpose should fall within the scope of the presentinvention.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, because the diode only providesone-way conduction, if light intensity decreases drastically, thevoltage on the capacitor CR might not follow instantly, affecting theaccuracy of the voltage VR. To solve this, as shown in the fifthembodiment of FIG. 7, a switch SW operating in an opposite phase to thesignal ENPWM is provided at the left side of the input voltage node Vin(the switch SW may be, e.g., a PMOSFET switch, or an NMOSFET switchoperated by an inverted signal of ENPWM). When the power stage is turnedoff (period L2), the switch SW is ON so that the primary photovoltaicdevice group 21 can charge the capacitor CR; when the power stage 3 isextracting energy, the switch SW is OFF so that the primary photovoltaicdevice group 21 only provides voltage to the input voltage node Vin, butdoes not charge the capacitor CR. Thus, the voltage on the capacitor CRcan be kept very close to the open circuit voltage Voc of the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21.

In all of the above-mentioned embodiments, to be precise, when the rightside of the input voltage node Vin is open circuit, the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21 is not in a complete open circuit status,that is, the input voltage Vin is not precisely equal to the opencircuit voltage Voc. There is a small amount of load current flowingthrough the path from the primary photovoltaic device group 21-Vin-DR orSW-VinREF-R1-R2 to ground. Hence, if it is desired to obtained a preciseopen circuit voltage Voc, and to maintain the voltage on the capacitorCR longer so that the capacitor charging frequency can be reduced, aunit gain circuit can be provided in said path to ensure open circuitstatus, as shown in the two embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9. In the sixthembodiment of FIG. 8, because the diode DR only provides one-wayconduction, a weak current source of low current amount is provided sothat the capacitor CR can be discharged. In the seventh embodiment ofFIG. 9, because the switch SW provides bi-directional conduction, acurrent source is not required. The other parts of these two embodimentsare similar to those of FIGS. 6 and 7, and the details thereof are notredundantly repeated here.

The above-mentioned embodiments are based on an estimation of Vmpp as70% to 90% of the open circuit voltage Voc. Under the second concept ofthe present invention, Vmpp can be estimated more accurately.

FIG. 10 shows the eighth embodiment according to the present invention.In this and following embodiments, the analog comparison and controlcircuit 50 is shown as a simple block without showing its details, forsimplicity of the drawings. The reference voltage VinREF in thisembodiment can be extracted from the output of the primary photovoltaicdevice group 21, or the output of a reference photovoltaic device group(not shown), or a predetermined constant voltage. A fixed resistor R3and a variable resistor R4 form a variable voltage divider circuit whichdivides the reference voltage VinREF to determine the voltage at thenode VR; in other words, the resistance of the variable resistor R4determines the voltage at the node VR, making it equal to Vmpp. Itshould be noted that the variable resistor R4 is only one among manyusable devices; any other device with variable resistance, even if itsresistance does not vary linearly, can be used for the purpose of thepresent invention, such as a MOSFET, a JFET, a pinch-resistor, etc. Thekey point is to adjust the voltage at the node VR by the variablevoltage divider circuit; any arrangement serving this purpose meets therequirement of the present invention.

The resistance of the variable resistor R4 is controlled by a variableresistor control circuit 7 in a manner as follows. Referring to FIG. 1,at the left side of the MPP on the V-I curve, when voltage decreases,power increases, with opposite slope directions; at the right side ofthe MPP on the V-I curve, when voltage increases, power increases, withthe same slope directions. Thus, by a comparison between the slopedirection of the output voltage of the primary photovoltaic device group21 and the slope direction of the output power, it can be decided as towhere the present V-I relationship stands, i.e., at the left side orright side of the MPP. The resistance of the variable resistor R4 can beadjusted accordingly to move the voltage at the node VR towards Vmpp.Under this concept, in the circuit of FIG. 10, a direction comparisoncircuit 60 is provided, which receives the input voltage Vin(corresponding to the output voltage of the primary photovoltaic devicegroup 21) and the power at the output terminal (corresponding to theoutput power of the primary photovoltaic device group 21), and comparestheir slope directions. The comparison result is sent to the variableresistor control circuit 7 for adjusting the resistance of the variableresistor R4.

To adjust the voltage VR by means of a variable resistor control circuit7 controlling the resistance of a variable resistor R4, is only anillustrative embodiment to show the concept. The spirit is to provide acircuit for adjusting the voltage VR according to a comparison betweenslope directions of voltage and power. When the slope directions areopposite to each other, the circuit decreases the voltage VR; when theslope directions are the same to each other, the circuit increases thevoltage VR. Any variation under this spirit falls within the scope ofthe present invention.

There are many ways to embody the direction comparison circuit 60, oneof which is shown in the figure as an example. A power meter 40 at theright side of the figure measures the power at the output terminal(corresponding to the output power of the primary photovoltaic devicegroup 21), and sends the measured result to a differential circuit (D.Ckt.) 62; the output of the derivative circuit 62 represents the slopeof the power at the output terminal. On the other hand, anotherdifferential circuit (D. Ckt.) 61 receives the input voltage Vin andgenerates an output representing the slope of the input voltage Vin(corresponding to the slope of the output voltage of the primaryphotovoltaic device group 21). A slope direction comparison circuit(Slope Direct. Comp. Ckt.) 63 receives the outputs from the circuits 61and 62, and compare the directions of the two slopes. The comparisonresult is sent to the variable resistor control circuit 7 for adjustingthe resistance of the variable resistor R4.

The ninth embodiment shown in FIG. 11 shows an example of detailedstructure of the direction comparison circuit 60. It includesoperational amplifiers OP1 and OP2, and comparators CP1 and CP2. Thecomparators CP1 and CP2 respectively compare the outputs of theoperational amplifiers OP1 and OP2 with the voltage stored in thecapacitors C1 and C2 at a previous time point, and determine the slopedirections. The output of the exclusive OR gate XOR indicates whetherthe slope directions are the same or opposite. It should be noted herethat what FIG. 11 shows is only one example among many possiblearrangements, which is not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention. For instance, the differential circuits 61 and 62 in FIGS. 10and 11 can be replaced by other high pass filter circuits to obtain thesame effect. This is because, under the concept of the presentinvention, it is not required to obtain accurate values of the slopes,but instead only the slope directions of the output voltage and theoutput power of the primary photovoltaic device group 21. As anotherexample, the function of the comparators CP1 and CP2 is to transfer theoutputs of the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2 to digital signals forinputting into the exclusive OR gate XOR. If the operational amplifiersOP1 and OP2 are designed so that their outputs can be distinguished andrecognized by a logic operation circuit, the slope direction comparisoncircuit 63 does not have to include the comparators CP1 and CP2; theoutputs of the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2 can be compared witheach other directly.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show two examples of the detailed structure of thevariable resistor control circuit 7, which are the tenth and eleventhembodiments of the present invention. Again, these two embodiments areillustrative rather than limiting. In details, in the embodiment shownin FIG. 12, when the output of the direction comparison circuit 60 islow, the upper PMOS switch is ON, so that the capacitor C7 is chargedalong a positive direction and adjust the variable resistor R4corresponding to the positive direction; when the output of thedirection comparison circuit 60 is high, the lower NMOS switch is ON, sothat the capacitor C7 is charged along a negative direction and adjustthe variable resistor R4 corresponding to the negative direction. Theforegoing “positive” and “negative” directions, the types and locationsof the PMOS and NMOS transistors, and the adjusted directions of thevariable resistor R4, can be arranged according to the design of thedirection comparison circuit 60. For example, if the exclusive OR gateXOR is replaced by an exclusive NOR gate XNOR, then opposite signals anddevices should be used.

The embodiment of FIG. 13 includes a transconductor GM which generatescurrent corresponding to the comparison between the output of thedirection comparison circuit 60 and a reference voltage VB, to chargethe variable resistor R4 for controlling the variable resistor R4. Thereference voltage VB can be set at a value between the high level andlow level of the output of the direction comparison circuit 60, so that,when the output of the direction comparison circuit 60 is low, thetransconductor GM generates positive current to charge the capacitor C7along a positive direction and adjust the variable resistor R4corresponding to the positive direction; when the output of thedirection comparison circuit 60 is high, the transconductor GM generatesnegative current to charge the capacitor C7 along a negative directionand adjust the variable resistor R4 corresponding to the negativedirection. Similar to the previous embodiment, the “positive” and“negative” directions (the positive and negative inputs of thetransconductor GM) can be arranged according to the output types of thedirection comparison circuit 60, i.e., they may be reversed if needed.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, according to the present invention, besidesdetermining MPP based on the voltage-power relationship, it is alsopossible to determine MPP based on the current-power relationship. Atthe left side of the MPP on the V-I curve, when current increases, powerincreases, with the same slope directions; at the right side of the MPPon the V-I curve, when current increases, power decreases, with oppositeslope directions. Thus, by a comparison between the slope direction ofthe output current of the primary photovoltaic device group 21 and theslope direction of the output power, it can be decided as to where thepresent V-I relationship stands, i.e., at the left side or right side ofthe MPP. FIG. 14 shows the twelfth embodiment of the present inventionto embody this concept.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, a current sensing circuit 8 sensesthe input current Tin (the output current of the primary photovoltaicdevice group 21), which is compared with the output of the power meter40 (the output power of the primary photovoltaic device group 21) in thedirection comparison circuit 60. The resistance of the variable resistorR4 is adjusted according to the result of comparison, to move thevoltage at the node VR towards Vmpp. Apparently, because therelationship between current and power slope directions is opposite tothe relationship between voltage and power slope directions, thedetailed structure of the direction comparison circuit 60 or thevariable resistor control circuit 7 should be designed based on suchfact. For example, if a circuit shown in any of FIGS. 11-13 is used, aninverter gate should be added at a proper location, or an exclusive NORgate XNOR should be used instead of the exclusive OR gate XOR, or thelocations of the PMOS and NMOS transistors in FIG. 12 should beinterchanged, or the positive and negative inputs of the transconductorGM should be interchanged, etc.

The same as above, to adjust the voltage VR by means of a variableresistor control circuit 7 controlling the resistance of a variableresistor R4, is only an illustrative embodiment to show the concept. Thespirit is to provide a circuit for adjusting the voltage VR according toa comparison between slope directions of current and power. When theslope directions are opposite to each other, the circuit decreases thevoltage VR; when the slope directions are the same to each other, thecircuit increases the voltage VR. Any variation under this spirit fallswithin the scope of the present invention.

There are many ways to embody the current sensing circuit 8, one ofwhich is shown in FIG. 15. The circuit shown in FIG. 15 senses thecurrent Iin and transfers it to a voltage signal to be sent to thedirection comparison circuit 60. Again, this embodiment is forillustration, not for limitation.

A power meter 40 is used in the embodiments of FIGS. 10, 11 and 14. Froma first sight, the use of a power meter complicates the circuit, becausea power meter needs to measure and calculate product of current andvoltage values. Actually, under the concept of the present invention, itdoes not require an accurate measurement of power, and thus it does notrequire a sophisticated power meter. What is required is only to knowthe direction of changes of the output power of the primary photovoltaicdevice group 21; therefore, it is sufficient to use a very simple powermeter (as described later with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18), or evenwithout a power meter. FIG. 16 shows the thirteenth embodiment of thepresent invention, which is a variation based on the embodiment of FIG.14. As shown at the right side of the figure, since the load 4 is abattery inmost cases, and the voltage of a battery changes very slowly,the power meter 40 can be replaced by a current sensing circuit 41 whichonly measures the current flowing to the load 4, and transfers thesensed result to a voltage signal to be inputted to the differentialcircuit 62. Thus, the same purpose as that of the circuit shown in FIG.14 can be achieved. An example of the detailed structure of the currentsensing circuit 41 is shown in FIG. 15. Likely, the right side of FIG.10 or FIG. 11 can be replaced by a current sensing circuit in a similarfashion.

If it is desired to take the voltage variation of the load 4 intoconsideration, we can use a “power trend meter” having a much simplerstructure, instead of a power meter. A power trend meter compares thepower at the present time point with the power at a previous time point,and generates a signal corresponding to the comparison result. It shouldbe emphasized that the power trend meter only needs to show thedirection of power changes, which does not even need to be proportionalto the actual power changes. An example of such power trend meter isshown in FIG. 17 as the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention,wherein the power trend is estimated by sensing the heat of a resistor.As shown in the figure, a bipolar transistor Q_(BP) is used to sense theheat variation on a resistor Rs. In general, the base to emitter voltagevariation (dV_(BE)) of a bipolar transistor corresponds to temperaturevariation (dT) as:

dV_(BE)/dT≈−2 mV/° C.

Thus, the voltage variation can be used to represent the power trend.However, it should be noted that this is an inverted analog signal andshould be processed accordingly.

If it is desired to detect the actual current and voltage, that is, ifit is not desired to simply measure the power trend, the fifteenthembodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 18 provides a simplesolution. Please refer to FIG. 11 in conjunction with FIG. 18, thecircuit of FIG. 18 includes the power meter 40, the differential circuit61, and the comparator CP2. The output signal PRFI indicates the powerchanging direction, i.e., the plus or minus sign of d(V*I)/dt, in whichd(V*I) is the power change, and dt is the time change. PRFI is a digitalsignal which can be sent to the exclusive OR gate XOR in FIG. 11 for alogic operation with the output from the comparator CP1, to generate acontrol signal for controlling the variable resistor control circuit 7.As shown in FIG. 18, although the circuit detects current and voltage,no complicated multiplication is required, so the circuit is muchsimpler than a typical power meter.

In summary, in order to obtain precise MPP, prior art circuits requirescomplicated digital calculation circuits to calculate precise currentand voltage values, which requires transistors in the number of severaltens of thousands; however, the analog circuit according to the presentinvention only requires less than one thousandth of transistors innumber as compared with prior art. Thus, the present invention isapparently much more advantageous than prior art.

The spirit of the present invention has been explained in the foregoingwith reference to the preferred embodiments, but it should be noted thatthe above is only for illustrative purpose, to help those skilled inthis art to understand the present invention, not for limiting the scopeof the present invention. Within the same spirit, various modificationsand variations can be made by those skilled in this art. For example,additional devices may be interposed between any two devices shown inthe drawings, such as a delay circuit, a switch, or a resistor, withoutaffecting the primary function of the circuit. In view of the foregoing,it is intended that the present invention cover all such modificationsand variations, which should interpreted to fall within the scope of thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. An analog photovoltaic power circuit, comprising: aphotovoltaic device group for receiving photo energy and generating aninput voltage, the input voltage corresponding to an input current; apower stage for converting the input voltage to an output voltage whichis supplied to a load; an optimum voltage point estimation circuit forreceiving a predetermined voltage and estimating the optimum voltagepoint according to a direction of variation of the input current and adirection of variation of the power generated by the primaryphotovoltaic device group, wherein the direction of variation of thepower is obtained by measuring a trend of a power supplied to the loadwithout calculating or measuring an absolute value of the power; and ananalog comparison and control circuit for controlling the conversionoperation of the power stage according to a comparison between theoptimum voltage point estimated by the optimum voltage point estimationcircuit and the input voltage.
 26. The analog photovoltaic power circuitas claimed in claim 25, wherein the optimum voltage point estimationcircuit includes a variable voltage divider circuit for dividing thepredetermined voltage to obtain the optimum voltage point.
 27. Theanalog photovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein theoptimum voltage point estimation circuit includes a direction comparisoncircuit for comparing the direction of variation of the input currentand the direction of variation of the power generated by the primaryphotovoltaic device group, and controlling the variable voltage dividercircuit according to the comparison result.
 28. The analog photovoltaicpower circuit as claimed in claim 27, wherein the direction comparisoncircuit includes: a first high-pass filter receiving a voltagerepresenting the input current; a second high-pass filter receiving anindicator representing the power generated by the primary photovoltaicdevice group; and a slope direction comparison circuit comparing theoutputs of the first and second high-pass filters.
 29. The analogphotovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim 28, wherein the first andsecond high-pass filters are differential circuits.
 30. (canceled) 31.The analog photovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim 25, whereinthe trend of the power supplied to the load is obtained according to acurrent supplied to the load without calculating or measuring a voltageof the load.
 32. (canceled)
 33. The analog photovoltaic power circuit asclaimed in claim 25, and wherein the trend of the power supplied to theload is obtained by a power trend meter which senses a heat on aresistive device electrically connected with the load.
 34. (canceled)35. The analog photovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim 27,further comprising a current meter which measures a current flowing tothe load and inputs the measured result to the direction comparisoncircuit.
 36. The analog photovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim25, wherein the predetermined voltage is a fixed voltage taken from theoutput of the primary photovoltaic device group or the output of areference photovoltaic device group. 37-46. (canceled)
 47. An analogphotovoltaic power circuit, comprising: a primary photovoltaic devicegroup for receiving photo energy and generating an input voltage; apower stage for converting the input voltage to an output voltage whichis supplied to a load; an optimum voltage point estimation circuitreceiving a predetermined voltage and estimating an optimum voltagepoint according to a direction of variation of the input current and adirection of variation of the power generated by the primaryphotovoltaic device group, wherein the direction of variation of thepower is obtained by a power-change direction indication circuitproviding an output signal indicating the power-change direction; and ananalog comparison and control circuit for controlling the conversionoperation of the power stage according to a comparison between theoptimum voltage point estimated by the optimum voltage point estimationcircuit and the input voltage.
 48. The analog photovoltaic power circuitas claimed in claim 47, wherein the output signal indicating thepower-change direction is a digital signal indicating the plus or minussign of d(V*I)/dt, in which d(V*I) is the power change, and dt is thetime change.
 49. The analog photovoltaic power circuit as claimed inclaim 47, wherein the power-change direction indication circuitincludes: a first RC circuit obtaining a first delayed signal relatingto a current to the load; a second RC circuit obtaining a second delayedsignal relating to a voltage to the load; and an analog circuitdetermining the power-change direction according to first delayedsignal, second delayed circuit, a signal relating to a current to theload, and a signal relating to a voltage to the load.
 50. The analogphotovoltaic power circuit as claimed in claim 49, wherein the analogcircuit determining the power-change direction includes: a first analogmultiplier circuit generating a first derived signal proportional to theproduct of the current and the voltage to the load; a second analogmultiplier circuit generating a second derived signal proportional tothe product of the first delayed signal and the second delayed signal;and a summing node comparing the first derived signal and the secondderived signal to determine the power-change direction.